Whenever someone mentions Notre Dame greats at the wide receiver position, the name Michael Floyd always comes up. The argument could be made that Floyd, the most decorated WR in school history, is the greatest to ever play the position at ND. He is Notre Dame’s career leader in receptions (271), receiving yards (3,686), TD receptions (37), and 100-yard games (17). Floyd went on to become the 13th overall pick for the Arizona Cardinals in the 2012 NFL draft. He spent eight seasons in the NFL, where he played for Arizona, New England, Minnesota, and Washington. He played in 102 games where he had 266 receptions for 3,959yds and 25TDs for his professional career. He retired from football in 2019.
Photo by Notre Dame Athletics
Recently, I was able to catch up with Michael for an interview, where we talked about his recruitment, why he chose Notre Dame, what it was like to play for Charlie Weis, how hard it was to adapt to a head coaching change, and much more.
Michael Floyd went on to become one of the greatest WRs to ever play at Notre Dame. So, one would think Notre Dame had him in their sights all along when it came to his college recruitment. Right? The answer may shock you.
“My recruiting experience was awesome. When I started my sophomore year, Notre Dame was actually looking at a prospect, Matt Carufel, who was an offensive lineman at my high school (Cretin-Derham Hall) in Minnesota. Coach Rob Ianello noticed me in his (Carufel’s) highlight tape. He came back that next week and offered me a scholarship. That was one of my first offers along with the University of Minnesota. Overall, it was a very good experience for me and I waited until the last minute, but I knew where I wanted to go and Notre Dame was the best fit for me.”
Michael found something very familiar about Notre Dame that hit close to home for him, and it was because of this that he knew Notre Dame was the best fit for him.
“I chose Notre Dame because it was most like my high school. Great academics, a great football program, a lot of tradition, and I knew that my high school at that time kind of had a pipeline going there. I didn’t actually know much about Notre Dame until I read up on some history of the University. I did know that it was one of the best in the world in academics with a great football program and a lot of history behind it. That’s mainly why I chose it, but I later learned once you’re done with school and get that degree, it goes a long way and it opens a lot of doors for someone who has graduated from Notre Dame. That’s what I think separates Notre Dame from any other school is that degree, and how it helps you going into the business world.”
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Charlie Weis had great success when it came to coaching offenses, and it was one of the reasons he was hired to coach at Notre Dame. So what was he like as a head coach? Floyd shared his thoughts on why he liked playing for Weis.
“Playing for Coach Weis was always a good time. Great offensive minded coach that expected the most out of us, especially the group that we played with being Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, and myself, along with a really good offensive line. We were a very tight group, and we should have won a lot more games than we did, but he got us ready for the next level. He’s the type of coach that is a straight shooter, who doesn’t play around, and he's always going to tell you what he thinks. That’s what I liked the most about Coach Weis, or any coach, is someone who is honest and will tell you like it is.”
Michael went through something not all college athletes have to go through, and that’s transitioning from one head coach to another. In his fifth season as head coach, things weren’t going well for Charlie Weis, and on November 30, 2009, he was let go and his contract was bought out by Notre Dame. Just ten days later on December 10, 2009, it was announced that Brian Kelly would be taking the head coaching job at Notre Dame. So what was it like for Floyd to adjust to a new head coach? Not as bad as you would think.
“I don’t think the transition was a big difference from Weis to Kelly. It did get me ready for the next level with the no huddle offense, and figuring out plays called in from the sideline. I would say that both coaches were great to learn from because of the different offenses they ran, and what I learned from both of them helped get me to the next level.”
There were so many great games to look back on in Michael Floyd’s career at Notre Dame, but what game was his favorite? Notre Dame fans will love this answer, as it ends with a victory against Notre Dame’s biggest rival.
“I think my favorite game I played at Notre Dame was on my 21 st birthday at USC. We beat them for the first time in 10 years out in southern California. That was a fun flight home after 10 years of not beating them because they handed it to us the last decade. Also, the weekend I committed to Notre Dame they got blown out by USC, and they were the only school in the country that didn’t offer me a scholarship that I wanted to go to. So I wanted to go to a school that played them every year because I was pretty upset about it. Pete Carroll offered me to come to a one day camp, and I was like no chance. So, beating them was definitely my favorite game.”
During his career at Notre Dame, Michael Floyd was a human highlight reel who left fans in awe after many of his catches. But what was his favorite play/plays during his career at ND? For Floyd, it was a specific game during his sophomore year.
“I’d say my favorite plays because I can’t pinpoint just one, but I’d say my favorites were during my Sophomore year when we played Nevada. It was just jump balls the whole time, and one on one coverage with a lot of good blocks from the wide receivers that sprung me loose. It was a good day for us, and a good day individually for myself. I had 3 touchdowns for almost 200 yards, so it was an all around good day.”
Michael had one of the best careers you could ever ask for when it comes to the stat sheet for a wide receiver. In fact, he’s currently the career leader in receptions, receiving yards, TD receptions, and 100yd games for Notre Dame. He’ll go down as one of the greatest to ever play at ND. But what does Michael feel are his biggest accomplishments? Of course, he holds his records in high regard, but there’s two other things he’s very proud of.
“Obviously we didn’t have the seasons that we wanted to at Notre Dame with the talent that we had, but for me, holding all those wide receiver records at such a prestigious University like Notre Dame is a big accomplishment for me. I believe records are meant to be broken, and I don’t know when mine will be, but for now, holding all the records for wide receivers along with graduating from Notre Dame and being the first in my family to do so are my greatest accomplishments.”
So what’s Michael up to now that he’s retired from football? Well, he’s gone from competition on the field to the very competitive business of real estate.
“I work for EXP Realty in Minnesota, and I enjoy my time doing so. I cold call and door knock every single day, looking for people who had an agent but they couldn’t get the job done. I research their number from a public database record and cold call them to try and setup a meeting so then I can help them sell their home. One of the benefits of being in realty is that I know real estate agents from all over the country, so if there is anyone looking to buy or sell anywhere in the country, I can find them the best Realtor to help them get their home sold or help them buy their dream house.”
There you have it Irish fans, Michael is still very much in a competitive field where he works hard to get the job done each and every day. Just like he did each and every Saturday in the fall at Notre Dame. If you need any help buying or selling a home but you haven’t been able to through your Realtor, you can reach out to Michael at michaelmatthewfloyd@gmail.com. He just may be able to help you.
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